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Physical review. B, Condensed matter

Finite-size scaling of two-dimensional axial next-nearest-neighbor Ising models

Paul D. Beale, Phillip M. Duxbury, Julia M. Yeomans

Published Jun 1, 1985• 44 citations
Publisher

Abstract

A finite-size-scaling analysis is applied to two axial next-nearest-neighbor Ising (ANNNI) models. By using the scaling behavior of both the correlation length and the modulation wave vector we are able to clearly identify and distinguish between the ordered commensurate phases, the lock-in fluid phases, and in particular, the two types of incommensurate (floating) phases occurring in the models. As expected, the brickwork ANNNI model does not have a floating-solid phase, but instead has a q=(1/4) lock-in fluid phase above its 〈2〉 phase. On the basis of our results, we conclude that, in contrast to a recent suggestion, transfer-matrix methods can be a powerful tool in the study of two-dimensional models which exhibit incommensurate phases.

DOI
10.1103/physrevb.31.7166

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Journal of Physics A Mathematical and General•Oct 1, 1982•24 citations
A finite-size-scaling analysis is applied to two axial next-nearest-neighbor Ising (ANNNI) models. By using the scaling behavior of both the correlation length and the modulation wave vector we are able to clearly identify and distinguish between the ordered commensurate phases, the lock-in fluid phases, and in particular, the two types of incommensurate (floating) phases occurring in the models. As expected, the brickwork ANNNI model does not have a floating-solid phase, but instead has a q=(1/4) lock-in fluid phase above its 〈2〉 phase. On the basis of our results, we conclude that, in contrast to a recent suggestion, transfer-matrix methods can be a powerful tool in the study of two-dimensional models which exhibit incommensurate phases.
Some features of the phase diagram of the two-dimensional axial next-nearest-neighbor Ising model have long been debated. The extended structural correlations and long relaxation times associated with its Kosterlitz-Thouless phase indeed result in analytical and numerical treatments making contradictory predictions. Here, we introduce a numerical transfer matrix approach that bypasses these problems and thus clears up various ambiguities. In particular, we confirm the transition temperatures and the order of the transition to the floating incommensurate phase. Our approach motivates considering transfer matrices for solving long-standing problems in related models.
The magnetic critical exponent of the two-dimensional axial next-nearest-neighbor Ising model is estimated by means of the finite-size scaling of the order parameter. For a finite system without ordering field, this magnitude is computed from the two leading eigenvectors of the transfer matrix. The ferromagnetic-paramagnetic transition temperatures estimated with this method exhibit a small lattice-size dependence. Moreover, they are in good agreement with those obtained using phenomenological renormalization, and also with analytical approximations. The correlation-length critical exponent is calculated by means of phenomenological renormalization. The results found with these numerical techniques indicate that the ferromagnetic-paramagnetic transition of the model seems to be continuous, in contradiction with a previous result obtained using the persistence-length criterion, which indicated that the transition is always first order. We found that the phase transition is first order only when the ratio of the next-nearest-neighbor and nearest-neighbor interactions equals one-half.
The spin structure of an axial next-nearest-neighbor Ising (ANNNI) model in two dimensions (2D) is a renewed problem because different Monte Carlo (MC) simulation methods predicted different spin orderings. The usual equilibrium simulation predicts the occurrence of a floating incommensurate (IC) Kosterlitz-Thouless (KT) type phase, which never emerges in non-equilibrium relaxation (NER) simulations. In this paper, we first examine previously published results of both methods, and then investigate a higher transition temperature Tc1{T}_{c1}Tc1​ between the IC and paramagnetic phases. In the usual equilibrium simulation, we calculate the chain magnetization on larger lattices (up to $512\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}512$ sites) and estimate ${T}_{c1}\ensuremath{\approx}1.16J$ with frustration ratio $\ensuremath{\kappa}(\ensuremath{\equiv}\ensuremath{-}{J}_{2}/{J}_{1})=0.6$. We examine the nature of the phase transition in terms of the Binder ratio gL{g}_{L}gL​ of spin overlap functions and the correlation-length ratio $\ensuremath{\xi}/L$. In the NER simulation, we observe the spin dynamics in equilibrium states by means of an autocorrelation function and also observe the chain magnetization relaxations from the ground and disordered states. These quantities exhibit an algebraic decay at $T\ensuremath{\lesssim}1.17J$. We conclude that the two-dimensional ANNNI model actually admits an IC phase transition of the KT type.
The two-dimensional Elliott [or axial next-nearest-neighbor Ising (ANNNI)] model is mapped into an eight-vertex model with direct and staggered fields. With the use of the transfer-matrix approach it is shown that the dual of the ANNNI model belongs to the universality class of the one-dimensional quantum XY\mathrm{XY}XY model in a staggered field at T=0T=0T=0. The phase structure is investigated by high- and low-temperature expansions of the correlation length and by spin-wave-like approximations valid in first order at low and high temperatures, respectively. The fact that the phase diagram obtained at low temperatures agrees qualitatively with recent results by Villain and Bak and by Coppersmith et al. shows that the paramagnetic phase extends until T=0T=0T=0. The role of the umklapp scattering in determining the critical wave vector in the modulated phase and in stabilizing the 〈2〉〈2〉〈2〉 antiphase is pointed out. In the eight-vertex representation the critical indices are identified in the floating, massless phase. The dislocations destabilizing this incommensurate phase correspond to the energy operator of the eight-vertex model. Finally, it is argued that the apparent contradiction between the low-temperature results on one hand, and the Monte Carlo simulations and high-temperature-expansion results on the other hand, is probably due to the strong oscillatory behavior of spin-spin correlation functions in the massive paramagnetic region.
The quantum Hamiltonian analogue of the two-dimensional ANNNI model is investigated by finite-lattice mass gap methods. By using lattice sizes capable of simulating systems of varying modulation, the authors are able to show the existence of a modulated phase between the paramagnetic and (2,2) antiphase regions. The modulation on the incommensurate to paramagnetic boundary is shown to vary and this variation is calculated as a function of the anisotropy. In addition, they find evidence for an XY-like transition from the incommensurate to the paramagnetic phase and perhaps a non-universal transition from the paramagnetic phase to the antiphase.